WASHINGTON -- Premiums for employer-provided health insurance rose by a modest 5 percent for single coverage and 4 percent for families in 2013, according to a broadly watched survey of workplace health benefits.

By historical standards, those are small increases. They could undercut anecdotes told by critics of the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” that their employers’ rates soared this year because of the health law.

The law’s full impact has not yet been felt, however. The new subsidized program for people who must buy their own policies does not begin until January, with enrollment in the insurance marketplaces -- called “exchanges” -- opening Oct. 1. And new rules that would have required employers with more than 50 workers to provide health coverage or pay penalties have been rolled back until 2015. Critics say employers could find it far cheaper to pay penalties and drop coverage, while the White House says it expects little of that to happen.

Prior to the rule change, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that 2 million people would lose employer coverage, and likely go on an exchange, in the first year. The Kaiser Family Foundation says 149 million non-elderly people are covered this year by employer-provided insurance.

A slight drop in the number of employees covered this year was deemed statistically insignificant by the survey’s sponsors, the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET). But they noted that while premium hikes were small, the number of employees facing deductibles -- out-of-pocket sums that must be paid before coverage kicks in -- went up.

Seventy-eight percent of covered workers must pay a deductible this year, up from 72 percent in 2012. The average deductible was unchanged in 2013 .

Average premiums for employer-sponsored family coverage reached $16,351 this year, and workers on average paid $4,565 of that, according to the 2013 Employer Health Benefits Survey, released today. For single coverage, average employee contributions this year are $999. Neither amount represents a statistically significant change over 2012.

As usual, the premiums rose faster than the rate of inflation, which was 1.1 percent, and the growth rate of wages (1.8 percent), the survey found.

But the insurance hikes were moderate by historical standards. Kaiser said that since 2003, premiums have increased 80 percent, nearly three times as fast as wages (31 percent) and inflation (27 percent).

“We are in a prolonged period of moderation in premiums, which should create some breathing room for the private sector to try to reduce costs without cutting back benefits for workers,” Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman said in a statement prepared in advance of the survey’s 11 a.m. public release.

Slower premium growth helps support workers’ access to affordable health care, said Maulik Joshi, president of HRET and senior vice president for research at the American Hospital Association. He cited the preponderance of employee wellness programs as one way companies are holding down costs.

Seventy-seven percent of firms offer at least one wellness program to their employees, and 24 percent offer employee health risk assessments, the survey found. Fifty-seven percent offer at least one disease management program, which by controlling weight, blood pressure, asthma or other conditions can help hold down healthcare costs, authorities say.

The percentage of covered workers enrolled in grandfathered health plans – those plans exempt from many provisions of the Affordable Care Act – declined to 36 percent of covered workers, from 48 percent in 2012 and 56 percent in 2011. This suggests employers made changes to their policies. The array of health benefits required under Obamacare is generally greater than under grandfathered plans.

The Kaiser/HRET survey covered more than 2,000 small and large employers.

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